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China on Sunday said it welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call to “not accentuate” the stand-off in Ladakh triggered by a Chinese incursion. The government was “ready to work together with India” to resolve differences, it noted.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been grappling with tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) over the past two weeks, after Chinese soldiers set up tented posts in an area in eastern Ladakh disputed by both countries.

Flag meetings and diplomatic contact through various channels in the Ministry of External Affairs have, as yet, appeared unable to defuse the situation, with the Indian military also setting up posts in response to the Chinese move, leading to a stand-off.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday played down the situation, terming it “a localised problem”.

“We do not want to accentuate the situation,” he said. “We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem. It is a localised problem. I think talks are going on”.

In a statement on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said: “We have noted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement. The two sides have been in communication through the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on boundary affairs, border meetings and diplomatic channels for a solution to the incident in part of the western section of the China-India border. We stand ready to work together with India to properly deal with differences and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas in a bid to boost the healthy and stable development of the China-India strategic and cooperative partnership.”

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is due to travel to Beijing on May 9, on a visit that is expected to lay the groundwork for the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang’s visit to India next month. Officials on both sides hope the border situation can be resolved by then. The failure to do so, analysts here have said, will cast a shadow on a visit expected to be the new Premier’s first overseas trip after he took over in March.

Chinese officials have, however, released little information on the actual on-the-ground situation in Ladakh and on what prompted the escalation in tensions.

The Defence Ministry here last week reiterated that its frontier troops had not trespassed the LAC. They did not, however, reply to questions from The Hindu regarding what prompted the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to set up tented posts in a disputed area and trigger the stand-off, especially only a month ahead of Mr. Li’s visit.

Indian officials say perceptions of where the LAC runs in the region are differing. Both sides have, in the past, patrolled up to their claim lines, which are overlapping in this region.

It was, however, rare and unprecedented for any side to take the step of setting up a post – even a temporary one – in a disputed and highly sensitive region. In two flag meetings held over the past fortnight, the Chinese side was reported to have voiced its own concern about the recently set up Indian fortifications, also in Ladakh. Amid the tensions, a delegation of military officials from India spent three days in China last week, on an earlier scheduled visit to coordinate arrangements for joint defence exercises expected to be held later this year.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday reiterated that both countries had “committed themselves to settling disputes, including the boundary question through peaceful negotiation and preventing the disputes from affecting the development of bilateral relations.”